The state is home to the country's first presidential nominating contest in 2020. De Blasio has said he just wants to help the Democratic Party nationally.

"I feel called to create progressive change anywhere I can," de Blasio said during a Q&A on Tuesday. "I am not running for president. I'm mayor of New York City for four years. We have term limits. I have 4 years and 13 days as of this moment. But I can walk and chew gum at the same time; I can be mayor of the city and still work on my core beliefs."

To illustrate that point, the mayor wrapped up the Q&A with reporters by pulling out a pack of gum, chewing a piece, and walking out the door.

He could not say goodbye quite as easily to protestors from back home. A city police union, Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, sent members to Des Moines to protest contract negotiations with City Hall.

Patrolmen's Benevolent Association First Vice President John Puglissi said they would follow de Blasio "wherever he goes" and make sure people know he's anti-labor.

The city's Transport Workers Union also attacked de Blasio in a full-page ad in the Des Moines Register.

"This is nothing new. Both these unions have done this kind of thing before," the mayor said. "It doesn't really make an impact on me."

De Blasio this is just the beginning for him, saying he intends to travel around the county, helping progressive causes, especially over the course of the next year.